Europe 2018 Highlights

Kingkerswell Church in Devon, UK -

As ever on tours like these, we're moving from one show to the next and not really getting much down time. We're currently in Ireland with a day off due to terrible weather, so we'll bust out some photos and video from some of the shows we've played. It's been an incredible tour thus far and we're rounding the halfway point.

Jon contemplates his destiny in Fürth Germany.

If you didn't know already, you do now. Jon broke his ankle a week before tour started. If you know the man, then you already understand his zen-like abilities and calming nature. We've been giving him a hand a often, but he's not one to take a bad hand (or foot) lying down. The above photo was from a mile + walk we took on our one day off in Germany.

Mannheim encore.

At this point we've been on the road for more than two weeks. Each show blends together in our memories somewhat, but there are always highlights. The audience in Mannheim refused to let us stop. We've built friendships in these cities and towns and it feels amazing to reconnect with people we saw last year. We had multiple requests for Kara Jorgo minutes after the above shot was taken. Hard to believe that people in Germany request a song from Kyrgyzstan, but it happens regularly over here.

Here's a quick video of a game of Mikado we played with some friends in Lelystad, Netherlands.

Article in the Zurich paper about our first show of the tour.

The guy sandwiched between Jon and Kyle on the left here is Alex Minella and he's been our saving grace on this trip. What started out as an opportunity for him to learn the ropes of 'road managemnet' so quickly turned into a piece of this operation that we wouldn't have been able to function without. Alex loads the van, helps Jon get around on his broken ankle, runs sound, keeps track of wayward bandmates and fits seamlessly into our group. He took the above picture in the Netherlands, too! Big thanks and love to Alex for making what could have been an excruciatingly difficult trip into a well oiled machine.

We've knows the Foxen family for several years now, but this tour they pulled out all the stops and had us over for beer, fiddle tunes and philosophy after our show in Devon. Playing music in foreign lands is a gift in and of itself, but it's the friendships and connections you make with folks that pulls it all together. Here's a hearty thanks to all the people that have taken us in and showed us around on this trip!

Here's a video from our gig in Devon. Not the best audio quality, but you get a great sense of the space.

So, that's all for now. We've still got two weeks of this tour left with shows in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Stay tuned to our social media for daily updates and stop back here for more in depth stuff in the coming days. Make sure you stop by the Bluegrass Ambassadors website for a really cool interview we did with the excellent German Folk singer David Lübke. Check it outHERE.